Hornsby finishes 15th in first Olympic K1 200m race

Place: 7th out of 8 boats in the B Final. No medals are awarded in the B Final. It's for finishers ranked 9-16 after the Semifinals. Hornsby finished 15th overall when you factor in the eight participants in the A Final.Final Time: 39.370Behind Leader: +1.568 seconds behind the B Final’s first place finisher Kasper Bleibach of Denmark

What: Day 6 of Sprint Racing at the London 2012 Olympic GamesWhen: Saturday, August 10 beginning 9:30 am GMT (4:30 am ET)Where: Eton Dorney, just west of LondonHow can I watch? Taped highlights can be found on NBC at 10am ET and full replays can be streamed at NBCOlympics.com. Click HERE for local listings.

Tim Hornsby (Atlanta, Ga.) capped off his first Olympic Games with a 7th place finish in the K1 200m B Final Saturday at Eton Dorney. The finish was good for 15th overall when you factor in the eight participants in the A Final.

(See below for SATURDAY QUOTES)

Racing in Lane 8, Hornsby fought a tough crosswind Saturday and a head cold throughout the week to finish +1.568 second back from the B Final winner Kasper Bleibach of Denmark. He finished 8th (37.660) in his Semifinal and 6th (36.560) in his heat.

Ed McKeever of Great Britain won the A Final with a time 36.246 to become the first K1 200m Olympic Gold medalist. The 200-meter distance made its Olympic debut this Games, replacing the 500m race in Men’s K1.

Saul Craviotto Rivero of Spain and Mark de Jonge of Canada took silver and bronze, respectively. Hornsby trained with De Jonge in the months leading up to the Games.

On the second-to-last day of competition for the London 2012 Games, the racing concludes for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Canoe/Kayak Team. Three-time Olympic sprint kayaker Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) reached the semifinals in K1 500m and 200m, finishing 6th and 8th, respectively. On July 29-30, the U.S. competed in the slalom canoe/kayak events, finishing as high as 12th.

“It was as hard as I could go. The conditions were really difficult. It was a big crosswind and I kind of had the junk lane for that. But that being said, it’s kayak racing and that’s how it goes. I tried a little different race plan. I think it was a good idea, but I don’t think I executed really well.”

Hornsby on his B Final strategy:

“It was a really, really big headwind, so I knew it was going to be a really long race. With a long race, you have to be a touch more conservative, so I tried to use my legs more and have a lower stroke rate, but I think it was too low of a stroke rate. I’ve kind of been struggling with things all weekend, just getting parts of the race good and parts of the race bad.”

Hornsby on if he’s satisfied with his result:

“I’m happy that I made the B Final, but we wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want more. My goal was to be in the A Final and I didn’t do that, so of course I’m bummed. And my goal was to do better in the B Final, so it’s a hard thing I guess. But it’s an amazing experience.”

Hornsby on his overall performance:

“It’s been a difficult weekend for me. Every race I’ve been in, I’ve given everything I can give. It just hasn’t been exactly what I’ve been looking for. My training partner just won a Bronze medal [Mark de Jonge of Canada] and I’ve been training hard with him, so I expected a bit more.”

Hornsby on his expectations:

“It’s hard to see someone you train with everyday just win a Bronze medal. I beat him sometime, he beats me. Even the Canadian coach, he was a little disappointed in my results. He expected more from me and I expected more from me, so that’s a hard thing. But at the same time, it gives me a point to start from. That’s kind of what I always say, but I’ve got to make some changes.”

Hornsby on his overall performance:

“But I raced as hard as I could. Every single time I was totally maxed out. I left it out on the line every time. I’m super thankful for guys like Ryan Dolan that pushed me and the rest of the men’s team that pushed me and Guy [Wilding] for coming to coach us this last year. I’m thankful for all those guys and everybody that’s been a part of this journey. They’re why I’m here and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. I’m really thankful that I had the experience to be with those guys and with that team. And my family and my sponsors, I wouldn’t be here without that. I’m very thankful. I wanted to go on and represent my country and I wanted to do represent them better than I did. For what I was capable of today and yesterday, I didn’t expect to come to the Olympics and get a Gold and be on antibiotics and stuff. But once again, you’ve got to overcome the things that happen and that’s part of racing. If you didn’t have some adversity, everybody here has adversity, everybody here has fought through tough things. That’s what makes you a champion, I guess.”

Hornsby on the support from friends and family in the stands:

“It’s crazy. I don’t think my family has gotten together, like the full family, as long as I can remember really. I had my mom, my dad’s side, friends, relatives, my friend Gary from Hawaii, my childhood friend, like 25 people here. That’s incredible. I honestly wanted to do more for them too. But I know they love me no matter what. They’re why I’m here too, without them I wouldn’t be.”

USA Canoe/Kayak National Teams Director William Irving on Hornsby’s potential:

“This is Tim’s first big Games. He’s shown that he certainly has the talent in the sport. This day is not what we believe that he’s capable of overall. He’s a much faster paddler than he’s shown this weekend. But that’s part of the Olympic Games, the nerves set in, the athlete’s get tense. Sometimes it’s part of being an Olympic champion, the athlete that can remain calm, cool and collected in the start and hold their technique through the race. I’m sure he’s disappointed. But in the big picture of things, it’s good to get this one under his belt so he can come back in 2016 and be that much better of a paddler.”

Hornsby will advance to the Saturday’s B Final. No medals are awarded in the B Final. It's for finishers ranked 9-16 after the Semifinals. He finished his Semifinal with a time of 37.660, +2.041 seconds behind the first place finisher - Ed McKeever from Great Britain. Hornsby’s ranked 6th in his first round heat with a time of 36.560.

FRIDAY QUOTES:2012 U.S. Olympic Sprint Coach Shaun Caven on what can be gained in the B Final:
"Every place you gain is a higher ranking. He's already in the Top 16, so the higher up he can get in the rankings, it's better for us and hopefully it shows that our program's slightly moving forward and you can build on that for the next four years."

...

Tim Hornsby (Atlanta, Ga.) and Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) are guaranteed less than one minute of Olympic racing Friday before the London 2012 Games conclude for the U.S. Canoe/Kayak Team. Both will be paddling for advancement into the Semifinals and then into Saturday’s Final. The 200-meter distance is making its debut at an Olympic Games. Hornsby and Johnson will be competing in the Men’s and Women’s K1 200m heats, respectively.

For Hornsby, it’s his first shot at an Olympic medal and his only event in these Games. He’s passed the time during these Games by training, resting and watching his girlfriend - U.S. Olympian Becky Holliday - place 9th in the pole vault. Johnson, a three-time Olympian, raced in the 500m heats and Semifinals on Tuesday, finishing 6th in her Semifinal.

Hornsby must contend with 2011 World Champion Piotr Siemionowski of Poland, 2012 European Champion Ed McKeever of Great Britain, and 2011 World Championship bronze medalist Ronald Rauhe of Germany.

Hornsby booked his ticket to London with a 14th place finish in the 200m at the 2012 World Cup No. 2 in Duisburg, Germany. He finished 25th at the first World Cup of the 2012 season in Poznan, Poland. Hornsby forced the World Cup race-off with teammate Ryan Dolan by winning the 200m race at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

THURSDAY QUOTES:Tim Hornsby on his strategy for the 200m:

“There’s no real pacing, but there is different thoughts throughout the race. For me, I like to think about keeping my hands down in the first couple of strokes and making sure I move the boat through the work. And in the middle, I like to focus on the legs and running the boat a little bit more. And then in the finish, it’s just trying to keep it light and continue to grab the water and move the boat those last 30-40 meters that are really difficult. Each of these cues don’t mean a lot when you say them, but from saying them in practice, they have big meaning with the way my body changes and what I try and do.”

“It is a sprint, it’s 200 meters. But I can’t race it like it’s a 50 or 100[-meters], you’ll never make the whole distance. There is a little bit of thought on what you need to do. Everybody has their own strengths. Some guys get out in the start better, some guys carry their speed in the middle better, and some guys come home better.”

Hornsby on his pre-race preparation:

“I don’t change anything. I do my same routine I always do. When I’m trying to recover I lay in bed, watch TV and movies. I don’t go out and do a lot of stuff. I’m really pretty boring and lazy. I like to browse on the Internet for whatever I’m interested in at the time, like kite surfing. A lot of people get super hyped up and that’s their way of dealing with the pressure, producing more energy from that energy. I just like to be relaxed, keep doing the same things I’ve been doing all year, and that helps me to have that race I’m looking for.”

“I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the 200-meters as validating the last eight or 12 years in 30 seconds. But it’s just like any other day. It’s obviously a very special experience. I know I’m going to do the best that I can do at that time. And I know that I’ll do that. You don’t want to do anything different or make any huge changes. The people that do that make mistakes.”

Hornsby on the crowd:

“It’s been amazing. The only place I can even compare it to is Hungary. Hungary always has really inspired crowds, but here, the energy is even better. Hungary has maybe more people, but the energy here is second to none. You get in this venue without people and it still has it’s own electric feel to it, even with no one in the stands. It still has something that nowhere else in the world has.”

“Tim’s been training with the Canadians, which is a really smart move because they’ve got three really fast guys. That’s a good group to be in for training partners and they were happy for him to be there.”

USA Canoe/Kayak is a non-profit membership organization based in Oklahoma City, OK, promoting canoe and kayak racing in the United States. A member of the United States Olympic Committee, USA Canoe/Kayak is the national governing body for the Olympic sports of Flatwater Sprint and Whitewater Slalom and the official U.S. federation of the International Canoe Federation. Other paddling sports sanctioned by USACanoe/Kayak include Marathon, Freestyle, Wildwater, Stand Up Paddleboard, Canoe Polo, Canoe Sailing, Outrigger, and Dragon Boat. For more information about USA Canoe/Kayak, please visit us on the web at www.usack.org, on Twitter at @usacanoekayak and Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/USACanoeKayak.